Sweet vs. Salty

Sunday night treat from Will: mango sorbet in a waffle cone. Mmm. :)

William is a decided sweet tooth whereas I prefer salty snacks. This works out well because when we splurge on a treat I get the lion's share of our French fries and pretzels while Will gets to finish my ice cream or soda. Lately I have begun to suspect that Baby Hendrian shares William's taste in treats, because every time I have a bite of ice cream or a sip of coffee, an enthusiastic round of break dancing takes place inside me. I told Will it is probably his fault that the baby has a sweet tooth because he has been devotedly plying me with all his favorite comfort foods ever since I became pregnant. Oh well. I guess while Will is sharing his ice cream, there will just be more French fries for me. :)

What about you - do you prefer your snacks sweet or salty?

Inklings of Autumn

I thought I would want summer to last forever this year, but once or twice this past month it's slipped into my mind that I might be looking forward to autumn... the misty mornings, cozy blankets, scarves, hot tea, and bright leaves sound so inviting. However, I then remember that winter comes after autumn and sternly reprimand myself. I'm still not ready for snow.

Container Garden

Last year Will and I planted only 3 or 4 tomato plants (which promptly died), and on the other extreme, several hundred radishes (which unfortunately all lived). This year I settled on a tiny container garden of mostly tomatoes and absolutely no radishes under any circumstances. The plants seemed to enjoy the rainy morning yesterday. :)

Summer Snippets.

The Orange Leaf in Holland, MI. Our favorite frozen yogurt ever.
I especially recommend pink lemonade, chocolate-covered banana, and mango. :)

Hello again. It's been some time since I last blogged.

The short explanation is: I haven't written any posts. I haven't taken any photos. I fail at blogging.

The long explanation is: Towards the end of February, Will and I discovered that we were expecting a baby! :D Last August I miscarried our first baby, and the recovery was rather lengthy and difficult, physically as well as emotionally (though we felt so comforted by the prayers and loving support of friends and family). Needless to say, we are so thankful and excited and overwhelmed that God chose to bless us with the gift of another precious little life in His good timing. :) We don't deserve such goodness.

Will and Mom sampled a flight at New Holland Brewing Company.

Shortly after my last post, morning sickness set in with a vengeance and so I stopped writing because: A) the very thought of driving to the library and looking at a computer screen made me nauseous, and B) I couldn't explain why I felt so nauseous because we hadn't announced that I was pregnant yet. Somehow my new repertoire of skills such as making toast (or, if I was feeling really adventurous, macaroni and cheese... from a box) or folding a pile of laundry (...or falling asleep in the middle of folding the laundry), or hanging out on the bathroom floor seemed like they would be difficult to explain. However, I am very thankful that I was feeling sick because it was reassuring to know that our baby was growing. :)

Watching the sunset at Stony Lake with Mom & Dad.

By the time we revealed the news and I started to feel better in mid-May, we were getting ready to move into a new rental house in town, so we were busy with painting and packing for a few weeks. We moved into our cute little home on June 1st, and then we spent the next month unpacking and settling in. I did a little part-time work at a gift shop for a month, we butchered chickens and went to market a few times, we had our 20 week ultrasound (so exciting!), I visited my parents, my parents came to visit us, Will has been working a crazy amount of hours, and the summer has flown by. 

Exploring downtown Holland with Will and my parents.

Things seem to finally be slowing down and settling in a bit, so hopefully my next update will be a bit more timely. Now that we live in the village limits, we actually have internet at our house, so who knows, maybe it will only be 4 months until my next post. ;)

The Lavender Labyrinth (a few miles down the road from our house).

Note: My parents took all the photos in this post when they visited at the end of July, and I think they are probably the only documentation I have of our summer. Yes, I really have been that awful at writing things down and taking pictures. It's been a wonderful summer though. :)

An evening of putt-putt golf with Mom & Dad.